On Sunday, nearly two dozen shacks appeared in the Brickyard in the name of charity. Shack-A-Thon is an annual charitable event that raises funds to provide housing for low-income families in Wake County.
The consistent enthusiasm for Shack-A-Thon’s message is apparent in the games of corn hole and lively chatter that take place all along the makeshift streets of “Carpenter Court” and “Drill Drive.” More than 20 organizations have shacks set up in the Brickyard and are working to raise money by selling a variety of items, from T-shirts to baked goods with the goal of raising money to assist Habitat’s efforts. According to Habitat for Humanity, 1.6 billion people live in substandard housing, and the organization, with the help of the NC State chapter, is working to reduce that number.
The event, hosted by the NC State chapter of Habitat for Humanity, requires that students live in small shacks of their own construction. Each of the shacks is designed differently to best reflect the personality of the group hosting the shack. The shacks must be occupied 24 hours a day during the five-day duration of the event. The shacks will remain in the Brickyard until Friday when the atmosphere shifts and Shack-A-Thon switches to Wack-A-Thon, the demolishing of the wooden structures.
Each shack showcases the individual styles of the organizations. Except for the foundation, the College of Natural Resources’ shack is made entirely of freshly cut bamboo harvested by the students, according to Ryan Levine, a freshman studying wildlife sciences.
Tripp Pearce, a junior studying environmental engineering and the secretary of NC State’s chapter, said the chapter has big goals in mind.
“For this event, our goal is $65,000 to build a house, and our overall goal for this year is $250,000 to build a block of houses,” Pearce said.
The block of houses Pearce mentioned is the biggest collaboration NC State’s chapter the Habitat’s Wake County affiliate have ever done.
The two groups will work to raise $715,000 to “Build-A-Block” of 11 townhomes on Lake Wheeler Road for those in need. The fundraising began with the announcement on Saturday night and will conclude at the student chapter’s annual Shack-a-Thon event in 2016.
The plan is to build the first five townhomes in the fall of 2016 and the last six in the spring of 2017. The property is two-and-a-half acres and is within walking distance of both a grocery store and a bus stop.
“I’m really excited,” said Sarah Paluskiewicz, a senior studying polymer and color chemistry and president of the student chapter. “This year for the 2015-2016 school year, we’ll be fundraising for 11 sponsorships. That’s $65,000 a piece.”
The Lake Wheeler property will have 16 lots in total. The first three, which are scheduled to begin construction this fall, will be managed by Lutheran Services Carolinas. The three units under the program “Building Independence” will be for disabled persons in need. Eleven will be for the NC State and Wake County Habitat for Humanity collaboration, and the final two may be used by the Lutheran Services Carolinas group or, if the fundraising exceeds expectations, NC State’s student chapter.
“Building the shack was for Habitat for Humanity, but staying was for the fun,” said Otto Timberlake, a freshman studying physics who nested in the College of Sciences shack.
Several students from 23 organizations on campus hunker down in manmade shacks for NC State's yearly tradition of Shack-A-Thon Sept. 22. This year Shack-A-Thon has a goal of raising $65,000 for Habitat for Humanity in order to construct a Habitat home. The shacks raise money by selling baked goods, raffle tickets, student-made products, and a variety of other things.
